19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. - 1 Samuel 17:19-24
20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. - 1 Samuel 17:19-24
As I started getting into the life of David, something different stood out to me from his trip to the battlefield. Verse 19 is seemingly always overlooked. 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. I've always focused on the fact that the Israelite army was scared of Goliath and unwilling to fight. While that fact is true, the Israelites were fighting. Why does this matter? I think it is a very valuable thing to notice for those of who care about the Church and our Christian family. David was the hero. David was the leader. David came and brought his passion and fire and charged out against Goliath. David was that extra push that the army needed. Those around us are often fighting and fighting and doing what is right, but they have some giant lurking behind them that they can't seem to overcome. I know I am often so busy pointing out someone's fear of or lack of action against "a giant", that I do nothing to help them. As a Christian, I am part of something bigger. As the Sunday school song says, "I'm in the Lord's army." Rather than discuss our neighbor's "giants" why don't we charge into battle and help them overcome those giants. Instead of caring about what someone is not fighting, why don't we focus on the fact that they're fighting at all. As long as we're still in the battle there is hope. Even when his helped was scorned and unwanted, David still did what was right and what he knew was best for the battle at hand. It is my prayed that I may be more like David; challenging the giants my brothers struggle against rather than criticizing from the edge of the battle.